TULLAHOMA, Tenn.—Caren Gabriel, president and CEO of Ascend Federal Credit Union, has announced plans to retire on April 7, with the credit union naming a successor.
Ascend FCU said it has selected Executive Vice President Matt Jernigan to become CEO upon Jernigan’s retirement following a “rigorous selection process to determine that Jernigan was the right fit for the position.”
Gabriel and Jernigan will be working closely together in the intervening months to ensure a smooth and seamless transition, the credit union said.
Gabriel joined Ascend as staff attorney in 1985 and later was named general counsel and executive vice president. She became president and CEO of Ascend in January 2004 and since has helped oversee growth to $3.8-billion in assets, 27 branches and more than 255,000 members, up from $960.3 million in assets, 12 branches and 117,000 members nearly 20 years ago.
A ’Great Honor’
“It has been a great honor to serve this credit union, its members and employees,” said Gabriel. “I’m supremely confident the organization will continue to grow and thrive under Matt’s leadership. He was one of my first hires after being named CEO and we have worked closely together for some time. He is well-prepared to lead Ascend into the promising future that lies ahead.”
According to Ascend, Jernigan has been a key part of its executive leadership team since joining its leadership team in 2005 as an internal auditor. He was named vice president of operations in 2009, chief operations officer in 2014 and executive vice president in 2017.
“I would like to thank Caren for her direction in guiding this credit union to its current heights and being a career-long mentor for me,” said Jernigan. “Ascend has risen to become one of Tennessee’s top performing credit unions under her guidance. Our members and employees are grateful for her leadership, which has produced tremendous growth while never veering from our member focus. The entire Ascend organization looks forward to building on her many achievements.”
Overseen Multiple Projects
During his time at Ascend, Jernigan has also overseen many successful credit union-wide projects, including the build-out of Ascend’s network of more than 55,000 ATMs and 100 Interactive Teller Machines, the opening of the teller center, and the implementation in 2022 of the credit union’s new digital banking platform, the credit union added.
“We will truly miss Caren and owe her much gratitude for her years of service to Ascend,” said Chairman Pat Eagan. “We are excited to have Matt take the helm April 8th. His 17 years working alongside Caren and his performance as a credit union leader gives us great confidence that he is extremely qualified and ready to assume the position as Ascend’s new president and CEO.”
‘Instrumental Role’
According to Ascend FCU, Gabriel has also been instrumental in driving Ascend’s member return program, which includes bonus dividend payments, loan interest refunds and reward payments for loyal debit card use. Members have received a total of more than $104 million since Gabriel began the program 17 years ago.
In addition to the credit union’s enormous growth during her tenure, Gabriel also oversaw the organization’s name change from AEDC Federal Credit Union in 2006, the construction of a new Tullahoma corporate headquarters office building in 2010 and an additional Murfreesboro corporate office in 2021, and securing name sponsor rights of Nashville’s 6,800 capacity downtown outdoor concert venue, Ascend Amphitheater, in 2015, Ascend FCU said.
Still Free in ’23! The Freshest CU Headlines. Right to Your Inbox.
The biggest, best and freshest news reporting in credit unions remains free in ’23! Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more.
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance you didn’t know was coming.
And did we mention it’s free?